ITSAZOO Theatre Productions | Thinking Outside the Cage

PRODUCTIONS 2009-2011

ITSAZOO 2004-2008

2011

Debts

Written and Directed by Mack Gordon October 2011A Site-Specific Promenade production at the Roedde Heritage Museum, Vancouver, BC. Inspired by the classic works of Edgar Allen Poe, Debts is a unique blend of live theatre, haunted house, and radio play taking place at the historic Roedde House Museum in Vancouver’s Westend. Join five teenagers as they crash a wedding from hell and discover that some Debts can only be paid with their lives.

Stay Away From My Boat @$$hole

By Sebastien Archibald
Directed by Chelsea Haberlin
Starring Sebastien Archibald, David Benedict Brown and Colby Wilson

September 2011Alder Bay Bridge as a part of the Vancouver International Fringe Festival, Vancouver, BC. Developed as a part of the inaugural Onsite program under the mentorship of The Only Animal. The audience sits atop a bridge. The action takes place in the water below. It's the dawn of the apocalypse. The world is sinking. One man finds solace in a small boat. But his floating utopia is soon threatened by the presence of a mysterious stranger. What does this man want? And what will he do to get it?

Chairs: A Parable

By Sebastien Archibald
Directed by Chelsea Haberlin

March 2011—CBC Studio 700, Vancouver BC
March-April 2011—On Tour: Presented by Intrepid Theatre at the Metro, Victoria, The TNT Theatre, Nelson and The Clayoquot Sound Community Theatre, Tofino
July 2011—Vancouver East Cultural Center Presented as a part of the Neanderthal Arts Festival

Chairs: A Parable is a tribal allegory featuring a unique blend of live action, flash animation and found-sound musicscape. Inspired by the theatrical existentialism of Samuel Beckett and serving it up for the sardonic hipster generation, Chairs follows the hilarious struggles of three men as they attempt to build a civilized existence in a barren wasteland. They enjoy a life of uneventful equality until one man steps forward and does the unthinkable…he builds a giant chair! With his newfound power position he can to survey the land, dictate orders, and offer keen insights about the world. But how long can he abuse his authority before the seeds of rebellion are sowed? And what untold horrors lay beyond the wasteland?

Bridge Mix

June 2011 at the Metro Parkade, Vancouver BC

2010

Death of a Clown

October 2010—The Phoenix Theatre at the University of Victoria, Victoria BC

Bildungsroman

A Co-Production with Slam Ink
By Duncan Paterson
Directed By Chelsea Haberlin September 2010—Carousel Theatre as a part of The Vancouver International Fringe Festival, Vancouver BC Bildungsroman is a story about the fine line between friendship and hatred. Herb Saltine has locked himself in his apartment and won't leave. Suffering from a recent break-up and having just lost his job, Herb now only has one purpose: to finish writing his book. Unfortunately, his best friend Cole has far more debaucherous plans. Desperate to get the old Herb back, and break him out of his funk, Cole spikes Herb’s pizza with magic mushrooms. What follows is a hilarious and crass adventure where the line between fantasy and reality blurs and Herb is visited by an unlikely spirit guide on his quest to finish his novel.

Robin Hood

By Sebastien Archibald
Directed By Chelsea Haberlin August 2010—Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC
August 2010—Gabriola Theatre Festival, Gabriola Island BC Robin Hood is a social/political satire inspired and influenced by everything from Bread and Puppet Theatre and Bertolt Brecht to South Park and The Colbert Report. Our story follows a group of social activists who live and work amongst the transients of a tent city located at Queen Elizabeth Park. The need for social programs is at an all time high however the government has allocated all its resources to a commerce driven sporting event, The International Big Deal (featuring exciting monetary events such as the Credit Card Relay and the Burning Money Pit!). So the activists take matters into their own hands. Unfortunately, the taser-happy Chief Gisbourne and the nefarious Mayor Nottingham don’t take kindly to “stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.” Robin Hood is told through the eyes of a guitar playing busker who underscores the show as well as performs various songs as he leads the audience from scene to scene.

Bridge Mix

A Co-Production with Enlightenment Theatre May 2010—The Metro Parkade Downtown, Vancouver BC Bridge Mix is a project designed to unify emerging theare companies through a shared public presentation in a found space in the city of Vancouver. The companies in the first year included: ITSAZOO Productions, Enlightenment Theatre, TigerMilk Collective, Upintheair Theatre, Genus Theatre, Spectral Theatre, Slam Ink, SNAFU and The Peter n’ Chris Show. Each company performs an original 10-minute installation. The audience is led thorugh the parkade to observe how each scene inetrates this urban backdrop and converts it into a performances space.

Death of a Clown

Island Tour March/April 2010 - Gabriola Island, Tofino, Saltspring Island and Victoria BC

2009

10 x 10

Originally conceived by ITSAZOO’s Artistic Associate, Cameron Anderson, as a way for Vancouver’s young theatre community to preview 10 minutes of new, original work, 10x10 has since morphed into a no holds barred, anything goes, garage sale of theatrical insanity.
Ten shows. Ten minutes each. One night of mayhem.
Over the past year ITSAZOO has produced four nights of 10x10 at Cafe Deux Soleil on Commercial Drive. 10 minute acts have included everything from stand up, to original dramatic scenes, to cirque, to rap, to clown, to dance, to sketch comedy, to a live, improvised music video!
We are always looking for performers, comedians, musicians, storytellers, or anything else you can think of to perform on the 10x10 stage. If you are interested, or just need more info, click here to email us.

The Road to Canterbury

By Sebastien Archibald
Directed by Chelsea Haberlin July 2009—Mount Douglas Park, Victoria BC
August 2009—Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC
August 2009—Gabriola Theatre Festival, Gabriola Island BC Updated for the 21st Century, The Road to Canterbury features contemporary counterparts of Chaucer’s classic characters telling hilarious, insightful, and often sordid tales of love, power, and religion. Five tourists, who are (unbeknownst to them) modern versions of The Canterbury Tales’ classic characters, partake in a guided tour themed around Chaucer’s life and times. The tour is lead by a chipper Chaucer enthusiast, who leads the audience through the beautiful landscape of the Park. However, he quickly looses control of the proceedings when various “audience members” take over and begin telling their own stories, complete with re-written modern pop songs. The Knight is now a mercenary. The Wife of Bath has morphed into a gin-swilling British socialite. The Miller has transformed into a beatnik. The Road To Canterbury showcases the timelessness of The Canterbury Tales and the themes it explored with three main tools Chaucer would no doubt approve of: wit, satire, and music.